Environments such as data centers are becoming increasingly populated with electronic equipment that needs to be housed in particular enclosures. For example, thermal concerns or the need to enhance security with respect to network equipment often necessitates that this network equipment (e.g., servers, switches, patch panels, and so on) be placed in network cabinets that direct air flow in particular ways or restrict physical access by unauthorized personnel. A common approach to this is to provide network cabinets with operable doors that can be designed to affect internal air flow or to provide physical security to the equipment inside.
To enable these doors to operate accordingly, various sensors, motors, door locks, displays, or other electronic devices may need to be incorporated therein, and a communication link between the door-mounted electronic device and some management software/hardware needs to be provided. While in some cases each door-mounted device may be connected wirelessly to the gateway, this method of connectivity may not always be preferable due to reliability, security, and/or installation concerns. Furthermore, constant need for available power may pose challenges to implementing a wireless connection scheme. Conversely, a wired link may be provided between the door-mounted electronic devices and their control/management software/hardware. Such a wired connection typically includes a link between each individual door-mounted device and a gateway located inside the cabinet. However, such wired connections also have drawbacks.
To take one example, the installation of network equipment into or the removal of network equipment from the network cabinet may require a temporary removal and a subsequent reinstallation of the cabinet door. To achieve this task, essentially every door-mounted electronic device that is connected to a gateway inside of the network cabinet needs to be disconnected therefrom and later reconnected when the door is being reinstalled. With a typical network cabinet front door, this may require the disconnection and a subsequent reconnection of more than ten different electronic devises. With such a high number of disconnects and reconnects, the chances for connector damage, equipment damage due to forgetting to disconnect one of the devices, and/or incorrect reconnection, is significantly increased.
Thus, there exists a need for devices, systems, and methods for simplifying removals and/or installations of enclosure doors with electronic equipment mounted thereon.